“We’re not trying to be innovative”, says SCII designer

StarCraft II designer Dustin Browder has replied to criticism over the game’s multiplayer not changing much since 1998, by basically stating that if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it.

Speaking with Gamasutra, Browder said that the team felt that the multiplayer mode of the game was high enough quality as it was, so there was no reason to tinker with it too much for the sequel.

“We’re not trying to be innovative,” he said. “We’re not trying to change for change’s sake. We’re just trying to make quality, and we definitely felt there were some things in the previous game that were high quality, that we weren’t super confident we could do much better.

“I don’t have a lot of enthusiasm to make Siege Tank 2.0. Siege Tank is good.

“It’s much the same for the guys who make Civilization or Team Fortress 2. They’re making iterative changes to a quality product to do something really, really great.”

Browder used the cover system found in the Dawn of War series as an example of how the team tried new things for SCII, but ultimately felt that it didn’t work well enough to be included.

“We tried a cover system frequently,” he said. “It prevented as much movement from happening on the battlefield, slowing the game down.

“Our game is about dancing: advance, retreat, advance, using the choke points — until, ‘Oh no! The enemy went air, the choke is useless!’ It’s about give and take. For our game, [cover] was a disaster.

“We think each game has its own style and flavor. Each game has its own strengths and weaknesses. What works for us would never work for a Dawn of War, and what works for Dawn of War would never work for us. They’re different games, and that’s how it should be.”

Browder suggested that those wanting something entirely new should look at the single-player experience.

“For the guys who say, ‘I just need something new,’ we’ve created a whole solo play experience which we feel really scratches that itch,” he said. “It’s a brand-new experience.

“We have a very high-quality version of a non-linear experience in an RTS game, and we think that’s an area where players who are bored of [traditional] RTS will have a lot of fun.”

StarCraftII is expected sometime mid-year, and the first expansion, Heart of the Swarm containing a single-player campaign for the Zerg, is expected to be released 18-months post the core release.

Legacy of the Void, the expansion that focuses on the Protoss, is expected sometime during 2013.